Epilogue

Derek woke up slowly that day, the early morning light not yet bright enough to be annoying. Stiles was still sleeping heavily, his entire body filling his half of the bed as if he had fallen asleep while stretching. They practically always fell asleep in each other's arms, except on the rare occasion when they didn't go to bed at the same time, but every morning was a bit of a surprise for Derek since Stiles couldn't stay still, even in his sleep.

Derek admired his boyfriend's figure, his pale skin and likable moles, his lean muscles… It didn't take him a long time to decide that it was the perfect opportunity to initiate lazy morning sex. Derek climbed on top off Stiles, careful not to touch him yet, and went directly for the enticing treasure trail. He took his time, exploring lower and lower as Stiles started to move and moan underneath him. He was lazily kissing and liking his lover's inner thigh when Stiles asked "Wha'time's it?". Derek had no idea and, anyway, he had no time to answer as Stiles jumped out the bed with a squeal, hitting Derek's face with his crotch on the way.

"Jesus Stiles! Warn a guy before hitting him with your dick." Derek joked while sitting up on the bed to watch Stiles running around, putting on articles of clothing as he founds them.

"You never complained before." Stiles teased in kind.

"You forgot to set your alarm again?"

"Yeah, sorry. I know you don't work on Monday mornings anymore, I'll program my alarm for next week, I promise." Stiles said while putting on his shoes before grabbing his bag. He gave Derek a quick peck on the lips, then made his way towards the door. "I'll see you at lunch! Oh, and can you go to the grocery store this morning? The list is on the fridge! Love you! Bye!" He kept shouting as he walked through their small apartment until right before he slammed the front door shut.

It had been over a year since they had fought Gerard and their life had been pretty normal since then. Well as normal as being part of a werewolf pack could be. Things were difficult for the pack lately. They couldn't all be together because of college, even if they had managed to stay in the same state.

Stiles was studying Forensic Sciences at Stanford where Derek got a job at the library. He had been rather lucky, as the librarian in the English literature department was soon going to retire and the man had remembered Derek from when he'd been a student. Scott was still in Beacon Hills, taking classes at the local community college and working at Deaton's clinic before trying to get into Veterinarian School next fall, he was still dating Allison but she was at UCLA, studying business. Isaac and Boyd both decided to join the Police Academy, with the promise of a job at the Sheriff's department once they'd graduate. Erica chose not to go to college and worked as a PA/Secretary for Talia and Laura in their local law firm. She and Boyd had started dating a few month back. Derek couldn't remember his pack being so happy before.

Derek had no idea how special that day was until he saw something intriguing while walking the few blocks between their apartment and the grocery store. At first it was just a glimpse. The back of a woman's head that made him do a double take, even though he couldn't figure out why. Then he turned left and there she was, standing still on the sidewalk, facing him… The witch that started all this.

Not knowing where to start, he just said "Hi.", and she smiled gently at him.

"Hello Derek."

As he just stood there in shock, she asked him if he wanted to talk over a coffee and directed him toward a shop nearby. Derek was just going through the motion as he ordered his regular espresso and followed her to a table hidden in a corner of the coffee shop.

"I'm sure you must have a lot of questions." She started.

"Yeah, I just… don't know where to start." Derek said, alternating between staring at his drink and looking up at her in wonder.

"Well, my name is Anwen Edison. How's that for a start?"

"And you're a witch."

"Yes, I was born a witch. My mother was one to."

"How did you… Why did you…"

"Sent you back?" She asked and Derek nodded, still confused by her presence.

"I mean, I assumed it was a spell but… I never heard of anything like that before."

"A spell is required, yes, but it's a rather specific power. Only a witch born with the mark of Janus can use it, and there is only one every five generations."

"So, you're the only one in the whole world right now?"

"Yes, I read in one of my coven's ancient tomes that the only time two witches were born in the same generation with the mark, they almost destroyed Time itself by trying to use their power at the same time."

"So… you can travel through time?"

"In essence. But I can only go back and for obvious reason, I can't go back further than my own birth… Well, I can go as far as my conception, technically, but I'm never doing that ever again."

"And you can take people with you?"

"Just one. It's a bit of a challenge, I have to search for a date of birth just to make sure I don't send them before they even existed."

"So… When you came to Beacon Hills, your plan was to send me back all along?"

"I wasn't sure yet… I observed you first."

"But why me? How did you even know about me?"

"Your uncle Peter found me. I was hiding in my grandmother's house, in Wales. I had only used my power intentionally twice, and the second time was to fix what I had changed the first time. After that, I left my coven and sworn never to use it again. Then Peter showed up at my door. I have no idea how he found me, or how he even knew about me. He told me about your family and the fire. He wanted me to send him back a day before it happened. He just said he wanted to stop it from happening but I knew he meant to kill whoever was responsible."

"So you said no. Wise decision. But why send me back?"

"I was intrigued I guess… and I just… I wanted my powers to do good, at least once. This mark…" Anwen said showing the symmetrical symbol on her wrist. "… it's supposed to be a gift. It only ever brought me pain and sorrow, but I hoped that it could be a gift for you."

They looked at each other in silence for a moment, Derek seeing the sorrow she had mentioned reflecting in her eyes. She didn't look older than 30, but her eyes seemed older than that.

"Did I do good? Is the world better now?" Anwen asked, her voice full of hope.

Derek didn't hesitate for second before giving her a blinding smile.

"Yes, the world is better now. My world his better now. And that's all thanks to you."

Hours later, as he watched Stiles trying to eat while telling him both how amazing his morning classes were and how annoying the douchebag who had sat next to him had been as he'd kept sending notes to the girl in front of them, Derek couldn't stop himself from smiling, because, as he had hoped, all this was worth waiting 24 years for.

The end.

I had a lot of fun writing this. It was my first Sterek ever and my first fanfic in a long time. I learned a lot from it, it only took me re-editing it all to notice it. It's also the first fanfic I ever deleted accidentally, I hope everyone who had been reading it from the start has managed to find it back.

There isn't enough words to describe how great it feels to get so many positive feedbacks, and I hope that my next fanfic will have as much amazing readers.

Thank you for reading my work, you guys are the best!

Ana